Will not speak on it: DK Shivakumar on claims of honeytrap attempts on Karnataka politicians
Bengaluru, Mar 23 (PTI): Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday said he would not speak on claims that Karnataka ministers and MLAs were targeted by honeytrap rackets, seeking to distance himself from an issue that has snowballed into a huge controversy.
During Thursday's sitting of the assembly, Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna claimed that at least 48 MLAs, cutting across party lines, had been honeytrapped and that the network was spread across the country, with many Union ministers also caught in it.
Shivakumar said that, as the Congress' Karnataka unit chief, he spoke to Rajanna and asked him to lodge a complaint.
"I can't explain what he told me. I asked him to lodge a complaint," the deputy chief minister said.
Amid rumours that Rajanna and Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi were planning to visit Delhi to apprise the party high command about the honeytrap racket active in the state, Rajanna's son Rajendra met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
When reporters asked Shivakumar the reason behind the meeting, he said, "Anyone can meet anyone. Many MPs, MLAs and even people meet the chief minister and me."
He then said he would not reply on the honeytrap issue.
"Don't ask me about that. I will not reply to anything concerning that issue," Shivakumar said.
Asked if he was travelling to Delhi to discuss the latest developments with the party high command, the veteran leader said he did not need to meet anyone about such false news.
To a question whether it was embarrassing for the Congress and the government for the honeytrap issue to be raised in the assembly, Shivakumar said, "Ask the chief minister about this."
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KKR land Green for record-breaking Rs 25.20 crore; Shaw, Sarfaraz go unsold
Abu Dhabi (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders splurged a record-breaking Rs 25.20 to land top Australian all-rounder Cameron Green even as Indian stars Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan went unsold in the Indian Premier League players' auction here on Tuesday.
Green surpassed compatriot Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore) to become the most expensive overseas player at an IPL auction. This was after Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings were involved in an intense bidding war for him before the latter emerged winner.
KKR also went after Venkatesh Iyer before pulling out of the race against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who fetched the services of the India all-rounder for Rs 7 crore.
As far as Green is concerned, his salary for the season would still be Rs 18 crore (USD 1.9 million) as the rest of the amount will go towards the BCCI's player development programme as per the rules of the auction for foreign players.
Green, who previously turned up for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has so far played 29 matches in the IPL to aggregate 707 runs and take 16 wickets.
Shaw, however, went unsold despite his fine run of form in the domestic circuit lately, and so was the case with Sarfaraz, who smashed a 22-ball 73 in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match for Mumbai on Tuesday.
Big-hitting South African batter David Miller was bought by Delhi Capitals for his base price of Rs 2 crore, but New Zealand swashbuckler Devon Conway, whose base price was also Rs 2 crore, went unsold in the auction.
Seasoned South African opener Quinton de Kock returned to his old base Mumbai Indians for a base price of Rs 1 crore.
A total of 359 players -- 246 Indians and 113 overseas players -- are part of the mini auction pool with the 10 franchises bidding to fill up a maximum of 77 slots, including 31 reserved for foreign players.
